5 Tips For Young And Emerging Writers
wamu.org – Thursday January 3, 2019
Writers: how often have you been told to “write what you know”?
Generic writing advice is so often repeated it’s become a joke in the New Yorker. But do young or emerging writers feel boxed-in when they hear the same lessons over and over again that prioritize certain kinds of writing styles? Today on The Kojo Nnamdi Show, we’ll explore what it takes to write fiction, and what resources the Washington region has for new writers. One of our guests, Zachary Clark, leads 826DC, a nonprofit chapter that provides writing support to young Washingtonians.
Check out Zachary’s writing advice, and leave your own in the comments section!
60 Inspiring Quotes About Writing from the World's Greatest Authors
inc.com – Tuesday January 1, 2019
If you've been following my column you'll notice I like to write about the art and craft of writing. Most recently, I've covered topics such as freewriting, Stan Lee's advice for storytelling, strategies LinkedIn Top Voices uses to attract more readers, and my advice for breaking out of a creative rut and getting more writing done.
But if you're like me, you might find the need to dip into sources of inspiration from time to time, something to loosen your mental gears and limber up your writing limbs in the hope that you'll be able to write prose that inspires, educates, and, if that's your goal, entertains.
7 Quick (and Free) Ways to Find Inspiration and Be More Creative in 2019
inc.com – Monday December 31, 2018
'Tis the season for setting fresh resolutions for the new year!
A few days of downtime over the holiday season gave me the space to think about my writing and publishing goals for the upcoming year. Lingering in the back of my mind, however, was the gnawing awareness that, to achieve my goals, I'll need to grapple with a powerful but invisible force working against me. It's a force Steve Pressfield gave a name to in his classic book on creativity, The War of Art: the "Resistance."
"Resistance" can come in many forms: It can be procrastination, fed by an array of distractions, like social media. It can be the heavy gravitational pull of the day job that pays my bills and allows me to support my family. Or, sometimes, "Resistance" is the feeling that the well of ideas and inspiration bubbling in my mind that I draw from when I need to write something has simply dried up.
I've written before about this topic, and have offered all forms of advice gleaned from the pros I've spoken to on my podcast about finding creative inspiration, developing better habits, and becoming a more productive writer. While I still recommend dipping into those strategies -- reading books on the craft of writing, experimenting with freewriting exercises, committing to a time and place to write every day -- there are a few other personal hacks I like to use whenever I need to summon my creative muse and -- to put it less poetically --pull my reluctant body back into a chair and place my hands on the keyboard again.
So here they are: Seven quirky, quick --and entirely free --ways to find inspiration and break out of a creative slump:
The Complete Comedy Writer, by Dave Cohen
chortle.co.uk – Saturday December 29, 2018
Dave Cohen’s book about comedy writing doesn’t have any of the answers. But it does have a lot of questions – and that is probably more useful to an aspiring scribe trying to figure out what’s wrong with their script or in need of a bit of inspiration.
For anyone putting ‘become a sitcom writer’ on their list of new year resolutions, there are plenty of pointers here to focus the mind: from considering the underpinning meaning of what the show’s actually about to figuring out the personality flaws of the central character which means they won’t get what they think they want - let alone what they really want.
Happy Verbs
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Thursday December 27, 2018
Well, I don’t think the verbs are actually happy. I only said that to attract your attention. But verbs do have moods. And I used the word “moods” to draw your attention, too. But it’s true that verbs have moods, though we also call them modes.
15 Books On Writing To Help You Get More Words Down In The New Year
bustle.com – Saturday December 22, 2018
If your New Year's resolution involves being a more productive writer, you're going to want to take notes. I've got 15 books to help you write more in the new year, and they're sure to help any kind of writer make good art in the next 12 months.
Writing more isn't one of the most common New Year's resolutions overall, but it does go hand-in-hand with reading more, which 18 percent of people wanted to do in 2018. Depending on your purposes for writing, your New Year's resolution might fit into the categories of "focus on self-care," "learn a new skill," "get a new job," or "take up a new hobby," which 13 to 24 percent of individuals wanted out of their 2018 vows.
The 15 books on the list below are an eclectic blend of writing reference guides, self-help titles, and creative journals, which means you'll have no trouble finding something that will help you write more in the new year. Regardless of the kind of support your writing habit needs, there's a book on this list that will help you fulfill your New Year's resolution in the coming months. So get reading — and more importantly, get writing.
Don’t fret, aspiring writers: You’re more qualified than you think
pe.com – Monday December 17, 2018
“How do I become a writer?” Authors hear it often. This question bubbles up in workshops and literary Q&A’s. Ironically, the folks asking are often already writing poems, essays, screenplays, or novels but somehow doubt that the work is “real” yet, pending the verdict of some external authority.
When I’m asked, the boring answer I give (similar if not identical to an answer offered by most writers I have known and read) is to read a lot and write a lot, then repeat the process over and over. This un-glamorous response either disappoints or quietly thrills. I watch the expression of the person if we are talking face-to-face. She may give a curious nod, as if to humor me. Often there is an insistent followup: “Well, sure,” one might go on, “but how do I publish my book/poetry collection/this article/this short story?”
Ah. That’s a different question. Strategies for getting published shift constantly in the evolving field of publication. But one cannot publish at all without writing first. So back to the first premise we go.
How to write your own auto-fiction book
harpersbazaar.com – Monday December 17, 2018
Everyone likes to think they've got a book in them (and, in many cases, that's notwhere it should stay), but the practical act of writing one is another story. Often, you might have had some experience which has made you want to put pen to paper, but perhaps you don't fancy a tell-all memoir that everyone you know will read. Enter auto-fiction, the not-so-new style of writing gaining serious traction in literary circles.
Paragraphing—Yes, You Heard Me
By G. Miki Hayden
Instructor at Writer's Digest University online and private writing coach
firstwriter.com – Wednesday December 12, 2018
I wouldn’t think paragraphing could be a mysterious business, but apparently so.
I wish I had an electronic rubber stamp that said, “Break your paragraphs”, because writers need to do exactly that. My students, in particular, need to do just that.
Robin Robertson: 'Writing poetry has very little to do with the intellect'
theguardian.com – Saturday December 8, 2018
Robin Robertson is an acclaimed poet who has won all three of the Forward poetry prizes. His latest work, The Long Take, a narrative poem, is set in the years immediately after the second world war. The story unfolds in New York, San Francisco and, most importantly, Los Angeles, and follows Walker, a traumatised D-day veteran from Nova Scotia, as he tries to piece his life together just as the American dream is beginning to fray at its edges. It was shortlisted for the Booker prize and, last month, won the Goldsmiths prize for fiction, awarded to works that “open up new possibilities for the novel form”. Robertson also works as an editor at Jonathan Cape, where he publishes, among many others, Michael Ondaatje, Alice Oswald and Adam Thorpe.
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